239 EAST 7 STREET, Manhattan, NY, 10009

Flooding, mold, unresponsive management

Unit 2 Pros: Location is ok. Cons: The bottom floor of the duplex apt #2 flooded badly in 2012 during hurricane Sandy, taking 5 feet of water, and has since had water leakage through doors and windows. FEMA classifies the bottom floor as a basement, will not insure any personal belongings in basements, and the building is in the highest level of flood danger i.e. mandatory evaluation. There is a serious black mold problem due to the on-going water leakage. Despite repeated requests for mold remediation, the owner has refused to remediate and claims he knows nothing about the mold. The mold continued up to 2025, by which time the renter was so ill from black mold exposure that they moved out. The owner did not supply appliances - the renter had to purchase the stove, dish washer, and washer dryer. The owner refused to remove and replace the refrigerator that flooded during hurricane Sandy - leaving it contaminated with raw sewage water. The renter had to clean our the human feces that were inside the refrigerator as a result of flooding from hurricane Sandy. One year after hurricane Sandy the owner finally agreed to replace the refrigerator, and he took the old contaminated fridge to use in the restaurant he owns at East 7th and Ave A in the East Village. The owners' children have enjoyed raucous parties, including young men urinating off the roof into the renter's garden - hitting the renters with urine. The owner decided that the best remedy was inviting renters to his kids' parties. (That invitation was declined). Each floor has its own furnace and renters are responsible for paying the heat. The monthly heating bill for apt #2 is $500 in the summer and over $1,000 in the winter. The furnaces all flooded during Sandy and were not repaired or replaced and break down every year leaving apartment #2 with no heat in the winter for up to a week at a time. The owner demands full rent during times when there is no heat. The owner refuses to service the furnaces or replace the parts that are corroded from salt water flooding during Sandy, when the furnaces were completed submerged. The owner refuses to call emergency furnace repair when the heat breaks down, stating that he does not want to pay the emergency fee. This has consistently left renters with no heat for days on end in the middle of the winter. The upstairs neighbors (apt #3) make a lot of noise all night every night (11PM to 6AM), stomping, dragging furniture, and dropping heavy objects, and they are heavy smokers. Requests to desist have been met with yelling and death threats. The owner refused to remedy the situation and claimed that he did not hear any noise from apt #3 at night so believes they are very quiet; the owner sleeps 3 floors above apt #3. Requests to the owner to improve the above issues did not receive a positive response. Discussion about reducing the rent for days with no heat, led to the owner threatening to cut off the the renters' heat, electricity and water and to "go all the way" with the female renter.